Realizing Love
by macyluvsu
Summary: Velma is kidnapped, and it's up to the rest of the gang to find her before it's too late. Pairings: ShaggyVelma, FredDaphne Rating because of one small part in a later chapter, just to be safe.
1. Chapter 1

Here's my first fanfiction ever! So go easy on me with the reviews please. Couldn't come up with a better title. I'll have to work on that if I write more stories. Pairing: Shaggy/Velma, Fred/Daphne

Realizing Love – Chapter 1

RRRIIINNNGGG!

The loud, annoying sound of the phone at 8:30 A.M. woke, as much as startled, Velma. She reached for her glasses sitting on her nightstand.

RRRIIINNNGGG!

"I'm coming," Velma muttered, a little irritated that she hadn't gotten that much sleep the past week. This was the one day that she was going to be able to sleep late, and it was ruined by the phone.

RRRIIINNNGGG!

"Hello," she said, still a little groggy.

"Hey Velms," said a familiar voice.

"Fred, it's 8:30 in the morning, and you know I haven't been getting much sleep lately," Velma moaned.

"I know Velma, but we just got new information on the case, and it's really important that we don't waste any time," Fred replied, sounding urgent.

"Okay, okay, I'll be over in a minute," she said.

"Thanks Velma," Fred said, then all Velma heard was the sound of the dial tone.

She hung up the phone, and walked to her closet to get dressed. After which, she grabbed a granola bar on her way out, locked the door and started walking to Blake Mansion.

After Fred and Daphne had announced their engagement, Mr. Blake was kind enough to let them both live in the mansion until they earned enough money to afford their own place. He was also gracious enough to let them use the place as Mysteries, Inc.'s headquarters.

She walked silently to the mansion. A light, cold droplet landing on her forehead caused Velma to stop and look up at the sky. It was beginning to rain. Velma hurried her pace a little and tried to keep from shivering.

_A couple more blocks and I'll be out of this rain_, Velma thought.

She started turning a corner that passed a dark and uninviting alleyway. Without any warning, a hand reached out and grabbed her, pulling her into the dark alley. At the same time another hand had covered her mouth to muffle her screams. The person twisted both of her arms behind her back.

_Oww, oww, oww, oww_, she thought, trying to fight the annoying pain.

The man held her tightly and looked out of the alley, dragging Velma to the dark blue van hidden around the corner. He took her to the back of the van, which opened up just as they got there. There was a man dressed in black, with a black mask covering his face. The one holding her pinned her down. The second one came over and tied her hands behind her back. He then took a longer rope and tied it around her waist and her hands, keeping her from moving her arms and to try to get away. Then they tied her ankles together and shoved her in the back. The men closed the door and walked to the front of the van.

Velma looked around, trying to find anything that might give away who these creeps were. She then realized that this whole chaos, her glasses hadn't fallen off. _Amazing_, she thought to herself.

She felt the van's engine start up, and begin moving. _Where are they taking me? What do they want?_

The man in the passenger's seat turned around, but kept his mask on.

"So, Velma, have you brilliantly figured out who we are?" the man said, in an oddly familiar voice.

Velma decided it was best to just not answer. She sat there and just stared at him, every-so-often looking around the van.

"Not talking?" he laughed, "You're still as smart as I remember."

_Apparently I should know this guy_, she thought.

"You might as well make yourself comfortable because it's going to be a long ride to get to where we're going," he said. He then snickered and turned around in his seat.

_That snicker sounded horribly familiar_, she thought to herself.

She figured that she might as well make the best of the situation and catch up on the sleep she had planned on getting. Velma lay down, trying to get in the most comfortable position possible, and closed her eyes.

Velma awoke with a sudden jolt. She propped herself up to a sitting position and looked around. She then realized that the van had stopped moving.

The back part of the van opened up and the two men were standing there, one holding duct tape. He took a piece of the duct tape, and covered up her mouth.

"Only temporary," he said in that eerily familiar voice.

They grabbed her, and roughly dragged her up to their hidden house.

The house, as well as the dark alley, looked uninviting. From far away, it looked as large as the Blake's mansion. But up close, it was a normal sized house. Although it was a normal size, the design was not anywhere near normal. It looked as if the designer and builder used a Notre Dame style, mixed with Edgar Poe darkness.

The men had taken the rope off her ankles so she could walk. They got inside the house and put the rope back on. Once inside, they took her to a basement door and shoved her down the stairs. They laughed as she tumbled down, her glasses falling off.

She slowly moved herself to a sitting position. _Aahh_, she screamed in her mind. It showed on her face too as she grimaced in pain. She felt something piercing her lungs, making it much harder to breathe normally. _Oh God, I've broken a rib!_

One of the men came down and found her glasses, and placed them back on her face. The other simply walked toward her and ripped off the duct tape from her mouth.

"See, told you it'd be temporarily," he said.

Velma decided she wanted some answers, "Where am I?" she asked, flinching at the pain of talking. She realized she would need to only ask important questions that wouldn't be a waste of time and lead to no answers.

"I'm not going to be completely stupid and tell you your exact location, but you're way far north from Coolsville," he said.

"How long have I been gone?" she asked.

"Almost a full 24 hours," he replied.

"That means the gang should be looking for me by now," she said softly under her breath.

Apparently she didn't say it soft enough, for the man seemed to have heard her.

"Oh I don't think they are, it's their day off," he said, snickering.

"Fred didn't call me did he?" she asked, but it was more of a statement than a question.

"Still as smart as you used to be," he said. "You're absolutely right, he didn't call, I did," he said snickering, holding up a voice changer. "Amazing what technology does these days. So, unless you and your friends really did have something planned, they don't know that you're gone," he laughed.

"But they will, by the time they get this letter," the other one finally spoke, holding up a letter for her to read.

Velma read the letter silently:

Mysteries, Inc.,

If you haven't found out by now, Velma's been kidnapped. To get her back, there is a small price you'll have to pay. You solve our own mystery, by yourselves (without the help of the brain). If you fail, or contact the authorities, we'll kill her. Have fun, and enclosed in the envelope is your first clue.

Your Childhood Bully

Redd Herring

Velma's eyes grew wide as she read the note. The two men laughed as they walked up, out of the basement.

Velma closed her eyes and tried not to cry. She shivered from the cold wind that blew in from the broken window on the top of the wall.


	2. Chapter 2

Here's Chapter 2! Enjoy!

Velma awoke with a sudden jolt. She propped herself up to a sitting position and looked around. She then realized that the van had stopped moving.

The back part of the van opened up and the two men were standing there, one holding duct tape. He took a piece of the duct tape, and covered up her mouth.

"Only temporary," he said in that eerily familiar voice.

They grabbed her, and roughly dragged her up to their hidden house.

The house, as well as the dark alley, looked uninviting. From far away, it looked as large as the Blake's mansion. But up close, it was a normal sized house. Although it was a normal size, the design was not anywhere near normal. It looked as if the designer and builder used a Notre Dame style, mixed with Edgar Poe darkness.

The men had taken the rope off her ankles so she could walk. They got inside the house and put the rope back on. Once inside, they took her to a basement door and shoved her down the stairs. They laughed as she tumbled down, her glasses falling off.

She slowly moved herself to a sitting position. _Aahh_, she screamed in her mind. It showed on her face too as she grimaced in pain. She felt something piercing her lungs, making it much harder to breathe normally. _Oh God, I've broken a rib!_

One of the men came down and found her glasses, and placed them back on her face. The other simply walked toward her and ripped off the duct tape from her mouth.

"See, told you it'd be temporarily," he said.

Velma decided she wanted some answers, "Where am I?" she asked, flinching at the pain of talking. She realized she would need to only ask important questions that wouldn't be a waste of time and lead to no answers.

"I'm not going to be completely stupid and tell you your exact location, but you're way far north from Coolsville," he said.

"How long have I been gone?" she asked.

"Almost a full 24 hours," he replied.

"That means the gang should be looking for me by now," she said softly under her breath.

Apparently she didn't say it soft enough, for the man seemed to have heard her.

"Oh I don't think they are, it's their day off," he said, snickering.

"Fred didn't call me did he?" she asked, but it was more of a statement than a question.

"Still as smart as you used to be," he said. "You're absolutely right, he didn't call, I did," he said snickering, holding up a voice changer. "Amazing what technology does these days. So, unless you and your friends really did have something planned, they don't know that you're gone," he laughed.

"But they will, by the time they get this letter," the other one finally spoke, holding up a letter for her to read.

Velma read the letter silently:

Mysteries, Inc.,

If you haven't found out by now, Velma's been kidnapped. To get her back, there is a small price you'll have to pay. You solve our own mystery, by yourselves (without the help of the brain). If you fail, or contact the authorities, we'll kill her. Have fun, and enclosed in the envelope is your first clue.

Your Childhood Bully

Redd Herring

Velma's eyes grew wide as she read the note. The two men laughed as they walked up, out of the basement.

Velma closed her eyes and tried not to cry. She shivered from the cold wind that blew in from the broken window on the top of the wall.


	3. Chapter 3

"What's taking her so long? It's only a ten minute walk! I told her to be here at 11:00 today," Fred complained.

Fred was pacing back-and-forth in front of the front door. Daphne was leaning against the wall, watching him pace. She had always thought it was one of Fred's better qualities, how he was always so concerned when one of the gang was 5 minutes late.

Shaggy and Scooby were in the kitchen, trying to satisfy themselves with the food stocked in the Blake's pantry. Mr. Blake himself was in the library, reading, while Mrs. Blake was away, visiting her sister.

Daphne started to giggle watching Fred pace back-and-forth. "While you're waiting doing absolutely nothing to help the situation, I'm going to get the mail," she teased.

She opened the front door and walked outside to the mailbox to retrieve the mail. Daphne walked to the library where her dad was busy reading the morning paper. She walked over to the desk, sat down, and started sorting through the mail.

"Bills, bills, bills," Daphne mumbled, while flipping through the envelopes, "magazine, bills, magazine, bills." She stopped as she came to one addressed to Mysteries, Inc.

She opened the letter and started reading. She gasped as she read the letter. "Daddy," she said hesitantly, "you should read this," she said shakily getting up and walking towards him.

She handed it to him and he started reading. He finally finished reading it and handed it back to Daphne.

"Looks like you've just been handed your biggest case yet," he said solemnly. "Would you like me to contact the Darlews and put their case on hold?" he asked.

Daphne nodded and hurried out of the library to Fred, Shaggy, and Scooby.

The three were standing in the hallway before the front door. Fred was leaning against the wall, his head bowed down a little, deep in thought. Scooby and Shaggy were standing with him, finishing their ice-cream sandwiches. Fred looked up as he heard Daphne approach.

"What's wrong?" he asked. He began to worry when he saw the look on Daphne's face. She handed him the letter, and folded her arms, standing next to him.

He read the note, with Shaggy and Scooby reading over his shoulder. Fred's face turned paler every second his eyes were on the letter.

"Relma, ridrapped!" Scooby said, starting to whimper.

"L-l-like what do we do?" Shaggy asked, looking at Fred.

"We put our other case on hold and find Velma," he replied, the color slowly starting to return to his face.

"Already done," Daphne said, while wiping the few tears from her eyes.

"Okay," Fred said, unsure of what to now. He thought for a moment about where to start and then it came to him. "Was there anything left in the envelope?" Fred asked.

Daphne quickly ran back to the library, searching for the envelope. Fred, Shaggy, and Scooby followed after her. She picked up the envelope and looked inside. She noticed a small piece of paper, and picked it up. They all stared at the paper, trying to decipher what the clue meant:

A favorite place to run and hide.

"Like, what does that mean?" Shaggy asked.

"Reah," Scooby said.

There was a long pause. Then Daphne spoke up.

"I think I know what this means," she said confidently, then she quickly walked to the Mystery Machine.

"Uh, Daphne, where are we going?" Fred asked, climbing into the passenger seat, for the first time.

"You'll see," she said, starting the engine.

Velma opened her eyes. _Nope, not a nightmare_, Velma thought to herself sadly. She shivered from the cold wind that blew in from the small window.

Without notice, the door at the top of the stairs opened, with one of the men standing in the doorway. He started down the stairs toward her. Velma could barely tell that he was holding something, but she couldn't tell who he was.

He finally got close enough that she figured out that it was Redd. He carried with him a large glass of water, and a straw. He came closer and set the glass on the ground next to Velma.

"I can't kill you in front of the gang if you've already died from starvation, now can I" he snickered. "You get three bathroom breaks a day. Each a couple hours after your meals," he continued, while fixing some straws together to reach from the glass to her mouth. "Your meals will pretty much be something you can drink with a straw, because I certainly don't want to have to hand feed you."

He finished setting up his "invention" and then walked back up the stairs. Then, once the door closed, there was silence, again. Velma leaned against the wall, noticing that it was becoming more difficult to breathe. She started to think that maybe it was more than one rib that was out of place. She closed her eyes, and decided to sleep.


	4. Chapter 4

Shaggy and Scooby tumbled around in the back of the Mystery Machine, regretting to neglect using their seatbelts, as they usually did. Fred flew so hard toward the passenger window, that when he regained his composure (and after nursing his cheek with his hand) there was a smear on the window from where his face had been.

The cause of the commotion inside the Mystery Machine, was because Daphne had been turning corners going full-speed.

"Daphne, you want to try slowing down?" Fred asked, still rubbing his cheek.

"No! Velma's life depends on us solving this case as fast as we can," Daphne stated firmly.

"So you want to tell me where we're going then?" Fred asked.

"Everytime Velma had gotten depressed or upset, she would head to the Coolsville Park," Daphne said. "Well, as we all know, there's a large forest behind the park. Velma would go far into the forest because she and I had built a little tree-house there when we were younger. She would basically use that place when she wanted to be alone."

They reached the park within five minutes, considering the fact that Daphne had been speeding horribly. Once Daphne parked the car, with lightning speed, she was out of the car and heading for the forests behind the park, with Fred, Shaggy, and Scooby in tow.

She reached the area that she was heading for and stopped in front of a large tree with a quaint, but old looking tree-house. Daphne looked around and frowned.

"Like, what are you looking for Daph?" Shaggy asked.

"I don't know…possibly another note or something," she replied uncertainly.

The gang looked around, trying to find any sort of clue to lead them to Velma. Scooby's nose started twitching at a smell that seemed as though it was something out of place. Scooby looked around and started following the scent. Fred, Daphne, and Shaggy bewilderedly looked at him. Scooby moved toward the tree and started barking at an odd smell that was located in the tree.

"Scoob! You're going to end up disturbing the people in the park!" Daphne scolded, putting her hands on her hips and giving him a stern look.

"Like, Scoob! This is no time to bark at squirrels!" Shaggy said.

"Rit's a runny smell!" Scooby said, starting to whimper at the unordinary scent.

"What's it smell like?" Shaggy asked.

Scooby took another whiff of the air, then shuddered at the awful smell.

"Rish!" Scooby stated.

"Fish!" Fred said, confused.

Shaggy started to climb the tree to retrieve the supposed fish. He sat down on the floorboards of the tree-house and looked around. After about five minutes of being in the tree, Shaggy finally descended from the tree.

"Well, did you find anything?" Fred asked.

"Yeah," Shaggy said, holding out a dead fish with one hand and pinching his nose closed with the other.

Fred, Daphne, and Scooby backed away instantaneously, as if someone had punched all three of them in the stomach.

"Did you find anything else up there?" Daphne asked, also pinching her nose closed. Fred and Scooby were doing the same.

"No, just this," Shaggy answered.

"Do you think it could be our clue?" Daphne asked, looking to the three of them, hoping that one of them would have an idea.

Fred, Shaggy, and Scooby looked blank. They all quietly headed back to the Mystery Machine. Shaggy fell behind while throwing away the dead fish and washed his hands in the park restrooms.

Fred drove dropped off Shaggy and Scooby at their apartment and took himself and Daphne back to Blake Mansion. He kept on pondering what the fish could have meant, if anything.

Later that evening, Fred checked his e-mail. There was an e-mail from Mrs. Dinkley, informing him that he and the gang were welcome to stay a little ways up north with her and Mr. Dinkley during the holidays. They had just received new advanced scuba-diving suits and wanted to try them out soon to see the aquatic life up close and personal in their natural habitat.

Fred decided he wasn't going to answer that until he had gotten Velma back. He signed off and started to get ready for bed, when it hit him.

"That's it!" Fred said out-loud, running out of the Blake's study to tell Daphne about his reasoning.


	5. Chapter 5

This is a long chapter because of a flashback that appears at the end of the chapter. Enjoy!

Velma had spent most of her time in the basement sleeping, waiting for what was going to happen next. Velma awoke, and now entertained herself by trying to deduce with what little information she had, on her whereabouts. She figured that they had taken her somewhere farther up north, considering that it was colder than it was in Coolsville. She was thankful that she had her trademark orange sweater on.

She sat quietly, closing her eyes. The only thing she could hear was some muffled talking, coming from upstairs.

Redd was upstairs, contemplating with Bill on what they were going to do next.

"So, what's our next move?" the Bill asked.

"Well," Redd said, turning around in his chair, "I figure that Fred's figured out what the dead fish meant by now, so they should be heading toward the Dinkley Aquarium. They should find the next clue there."

"Are we really going to let them just take her if they figure out where we are within the next 24 hours?" Bill asked.

"Are you kidding? I'm not that stupid! Of course not! She and the rest of them are going to die for sure," Redd said, starting to laugh wickedly.

Fred and Daphne had picked up Scooby and Shaggy in the Mystery Machine shortly after he figured out what the clue meant. He had told everyone to dress warmly due to where they were going.

"Like man Freddy, did you really have to get us all up at 1:00 in the morning?" Shaggy asked groggily.

"Yes, Shag. It's about that clue you found," Fred said.

Daphne, Shaggy, and Scooby were suddenly awake at the sudden statement.

"Did you figure it out?" Daphne asked with concern.

"Yes. You know how Velma's parents own an aquarium and are marine biologists," Fred hinted.

"So, like, that's where you're taking us?" Shaggy asked.

Fred nodded, keeping his eyes on the road. They drove in silence, neither of them not really knowing what to say.

They got to the Dinkley Aquarium, and used their keys, which they had received as a gift from the Dinkley's a couple of Christmas's ago, to get inside.

The four of them stayed together as they began their search of the aquarium. They walked around near the dolphin arena, then the sea lions, and moving on to the turtles.

"Like wait a minute!" Shaggy exclaimed startling everyone. "We're looking in the wrong section."

"How do you know?" Daphne asked curiously.

"Velma's favorite animal that her parents studied is the sharks."

"Since when?" Fred asked.

"Since when Velma, Scooby, and I were out on the beaches one day," he replied. Shaggy started to explain what happened that day.

Shaggy and Scooby were each on their own surfboard, kicking and splashing each other. Velma was sitting on her own board, with a 35mm camera, with waterproof lenses, taking pictures of anything interesting that she saw.

Velma suddenly stopped moving, and took her feet out of the water, and on to her surfboard Scooby and Shaggy saw the frightened and nervous 13 year-old and got curious as to why she was scared.

"What's the matter Vel?" Shaggy asked, concerned.

"Take your feet out of the water and don't move!" she ordered them, her eyes darting around her, as if trying to find something.

"Okay, Velma…but why?" Shaggy asked, as he and Scooby were doing what they were told.

"Reah," said Scooby, beginning to get scared. He started to whimper.

With her eyes still darting this way and that, Velma began to explain. "Something bumped my board just a few minutes ago. I looked around to see what it was and I saw a fin sticking out of the water, attached to a dark shadow, then it went too far under to see," Velma said, still looking for the animal that tapped her.

"It was, like, probably just a dolphin Vel," Shaggy said trying to calm her down because she was beginning to shake a little.

"No it wasn't! Dolphin fins are distinguishably different from shark fins," Velma said.

There was a long silence. Then the sound of movement in the water could be heard. Velma froze, staring behind Shaggy.

"What--," Shaggy began, but Velma cut him off before he could say anything else.

"Shaggy. Scooby. Don't move unless I instruct you to do so," Velma said. Her board was closer to Shaggy, as the water slowly drifted her towards him.

Shaggy and Scooby were obeying her every command, trying not to get so scared like they usually did. The shark was slowly coming up towards him.

"Shaggy, unhook the Velcro strap around your ankle," she instructed.

"Okay," Shaggy, said, doing as told, "but why?"

"Please don't question me right now Shaggy, just do it!" Velma said sternly, closing her eyes and brushing away some tears that were starting to form. She turned and noticed Scooby. He was staring at the shark, as if he was in some kind of trance. "Scooby! No sudden movements. Just be very still," Velma commanded. Scooby just nodded, still watching the shark circle Shaggy's board. "Okay," Velma said, turning to face Shaggy again. "Shaggy, slowly and steadily, I want you to stand up on your board," Velma stated.

Shaggy nodded and slowly started standing up, trying to keep his balance. He was off to a good start but his board started to wobble, causing Shaggy to wobble too.

Velma's attention was snapped to the shark, who was tapping Shaggy's board. She extended her hand out towards Shaggy, who was trying desperately not to fall into the water, or worse, the shark's jaws.

"Shaggy! Take my hand and get on my board," Velma exclaimed.

Without hesitation, Shaggy reached out and grabbed her hand, gripping it as if it were something he desired so deeply. Shaggy's right foot stepped on to Velma's board. Just as Shaggy brought his left foot to Velma's board, the shark tipped Shaggy's board over, and then proceeded to snap it in half with it's bone-crushing jaws. Realizing it didn't get what it wanted, the shark turned and swam the other way.

Shaggy sat down behind Velma and gave her a bear hug. "Thank you, Velma! Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Shaggy praised.

Velma giggled and hugged him too, "Your welcome, Shaggy."

Scooby had been filled with relief when the shark went away, and he put his paws and tail back in the water.

"Hey! What's that for?" Shaggy asked Velma.

"What's what for?" Velma answered back, unaware of what Shaggy was talking about.

"The knife attached to you. Why do you need a knife?" Shaggy asked.

"Oh that. I take it with me every time I come out here," Velma said. "My parents gave my sister and my brother one."

"Why?" Shaggy continued to ask.

"Kind of for protection in some worst case scenarios," Velma began. "Like for instance, if you're being attacked by a shark, you should stab them in their nose and they're eyes, so that way they can't smell you or see you to try and attack you again. As you know, my parents work with many different aquatic animals, and my favorite is the shark. Did you know that my parents have swam with sharks?"  
"No," Shaggy said, looking at her with surprise. He looked over at Scooby who was listening intently.

"Yeah. There were always people around though, to make sure they didn't get hurt. And they weren't the _really_ fierce sharks like great whites and tiger sharks. They also let me and my siblings swim with them too, but of course, my parents were in the water with us."

The trio floated in the water in silence, reflecting on the near shark-attack. The silence was interrupted when Scooby started howling and crying.

"RRROOOWWWRRR!" he wailed.

Shaggy and Velma snapped their heads into Scooby's direction. The shark had come back and was biting Scooby's tail, pulling him in the water.

Velma instantaneously grabbed her knife and jumped into the water, and began swimming towards Scooby. Shaggy watched Scooby in a panic, and was frantically trying to think of something that would help Scooby.

Velma swam up to the shark and grabbed on to its' dorsal fin. The shark didn't care about anything except devouring Scooby's tail, and then Scooby himself. Velma took the knife and stabbed the shark in its left eye. The shark loosened its grip on Scooby's tail, and thrashed slightly, then continued to attack Scooby.

Velma took the knife again, and stabbed the shark in its right eye. This time it let go of Scooby's tail completely, and thrashed around more wildly than before, knocking off Velma in the process, her glass flying off. Scooby took advantage of this and climbed back on his surfboard.

Shaggy quickly jumped in the water and swam over to Velma. He grabbed her arm and puller over to her board. He looked around for the shark and noticed that the knife was still jammed in its' eye.

Shaggy swam up behind the shark, grabbed its' dorsal fin. The shark swam back towards Scooby, pulling Shaggy with him. Shaggy quickly grabbed the knife, yanked it out of the shark's eye, and stabbed it in the nose.

The shark again thrashed backwards, throwing Shaggy off. The shark began to swim around aimlessly, unable to see.

Shaggy quickly swam to Scooby's board, who was gripping it, shaking and whimpering intensely. Shaggy grabbed part of Scooby's board and swam to Velma. With his free hand, he grabbed Velma's board and started swimming to shore.


	6. Chapter 6

"That was when I realized I loved her," Shaggy accidentally blurted out. He slapped his hand over his mouth.

Scooby, Fred, and Daphne stared wide-eyed at him. Daphne was the first one to speak.

"Aww," she squealed, "how cute!"

"I knew it!" Fred burst out.

Shaggy blushed and turned away, signaling that he didn't want to converse on the subject anymore. "Like, what are we waiting for? We need to get to the shark exhibit!" Shaggy said, changing the subject.

The four of them jogged to the shark exhibit. They arrived about ten minutes later, trying to remember where it was.

"Well, now what?" Daphne asked, looking to the other three for answers.

"Let's look for anything out of the ordinary," Fred suggested.

The other three nodded and the four of them split up by themselves, wandering around the exhibit.

Scooby walked around near an area where they stored the sharks' food. His tail accidentally knocked over a can of dead fish. He whirled around, scared, then realized it was nothing to be afraid of. He picked up the container and placed the fish back in it, after which he set the can back where it was. He then began scolding his tail to be more careful, but stopped when he noticed the scars from the accident Shaggy had described moments earlier.

Daphne searched near an area of chemicals for approved and legal experimentation and medicine for the sharks. She found nothing out of the ordinary.

Shaggy walked towards the pool where the sharks were swimming. He bent down and watched as one shark was swimming around aimlessly, obviously bored. Shaggy watched as he relived that terrible day. The day he almost lost his two bet friends.

Fred investigated around the rest of the shark exhibit, aimlessly looking around at everything. _Where are you Velma_, he thought silently, then sighed.

Daphne walked over to him, recognizing his signs of stress. "What's wrong?" she asked, wrapping her arm around his, looking in the direction he was.

"Nothing, I'm just tired," he said, not really wanting to discuss the issue at the moment.

"Somehow I don't believe that's all of why you're stressed," Daphne said. "If it's because of the Velma situation we're in right, don't worry. We're going to get through this. We always do. You'll always lead us out of these things. We'll get her back."

"Thanks, Daphne," Fred said softly, hugging her. Both of them returned to searching for anything abnormal around the shark exhibit.

Shaggy continued walking around the shark pool. He stopped short when he saw a sign with graffiti on it. Shaggy slowly walked toward it. "'Look'?" Shaggy read aloud, confused. The graffiti was on the sign that had an arrow pointing in the direction of the next exhibit.

He walked in the direction the sign originally pointed him to, and found another sign with an arrow. This sign also had graffiti on it. He walked towards it.

"'Towards'?" Shaggy said out loud, again confused.

He walked to the other sign.

"'The'?"

"'Mountains'?" Shaggy stopped, still confused. "Hey, Fred! Daphne! Scooby! Get over here!"

The three of them hurried over to Shaggy.

"What did you find?" Fred inquired.

"Read the signs," Shaggy said, monotonously.

Fred, Daphne, and Scooby looked at each other after reading the graffiti.

"This is suspicious, but how do you know it's directed towards us?" Fred commented.

"Because of that," Shaggy said flatly, pointing to the last sign.

Fred, Daphne, and Scooby read the last sign.

"'Mysteries, Inc.'" Daphne read aloud.

Fred looked up, when a small light of orange, under a thick blackness caught his eye. He slowly walked up a couple of feet.

Daphne, Scooby, and Shaggy saw what he was transfixed by and walked toward him.

"Like, what is it?" Shaggy asked.

"I don't know," Fred said, "but I think that's our clue,"

The four of them rushed to the Mystery Machine.


	7. Chapter 7

"We're going to take a vacation, Velma," Redd laughed wickedly, "we're going to take you to your place of execution. Sound like fun?"

"You're sick! You two have sick minds!" Velma screamed out at them, as they were dragging her away from the burning house.

"Shut up!" Redd yelled. Then he and Bill shoved her in the back of the van.

The two of them ran to the front doors of the van, climbed in, and slammed the doors shut.

"How could either of you do this!" Velma yelled at them through tears.

"Shut up!" Redd yelled again, turning around and pointing the same gun at her.

Velma's eyes narrowed on the object being pointed at her. She suddenly became quiet, tears still streaming down her face.

After what seemed like an eternity, Redd finally turned around and unarmed the gun.

Velma sat back and cried silently. Her ribs still hurt unbearably, and she couldn't stop thinking about what would happen if her friends never found her.

Redd and Bill had dragged Velma outside. _I wonder what they'll do to me now_, Velma thought. She shuddered at the possibilities that her imagination had started to come up with. Velma tried to erase those thoughts from her mind.

The Mystery Machine was parked down at the bottom of the mountain side. The four of them got out and looked up at the early morning sky.

"I think it's a fire," Fred said solemnly, hoping Velma wasn't in it.

Fred could tell that Shaggy, Daphne, and Scooby were thinking the same thing, just by reading the expressions on their faces.

Fred and Shaggy started to make their way up the dirt path towards the burning house, when Scooby and Daphne pulled them back from the trail.

"What do you think you're doing!" Daphne exclaimed.

"We're, like, going to see if Velma's up there," Shaggy replied.

"Do you two ever think? The smallest spark or flame can set this whole place up in flames!" Daphne yelled.

"Well, like, Daphne, how do you expect us to find Velma or any other clue if we don't go up and look?" Shaggy protested.

RRRIIINNNGGG!

Fred reached into his pocket and answered his cell phone.

"Jones here," Fred answered.

"Hey, Freddy! Haven't heard from you in a long time," Redd replied.

"Hello, Redd," Fred said calmly through gritted teeth.

Daphne, Shaggy, and Scooby listened in at the sound of Redd's name.

"Where's Velma?" Fred demanded.

"Well, we certainly don't beat around the bush, do we?" Redd answered sarcastically.

"Where's Velma?" Fred asked again.

"Fred, you don't seem to have any manners, do you?" Redd replied, still not answering the mind-boggling question. "I'll tell you if you ask nicely."

Fred paused for a moment to try and calm down before he asked the question for the third time. "Would you please tell me where Velma is?" he asked, trying to hold back his anger.

"Mountains, about 3 miles north. Dress warmly," was all Redd said before he hung up.

"We're supposed to go 3 miles north," Fred told the three behind him.

The four of them hurried to the Mystery Machine, wanting to get to Velma as fast as possible. _God, I hope Velma's okay_, Shaggy thought to himself. _I swear if he hurts her…_


	8. Chapter 8

Velma was curled up in the back of the van, trying to keep warm from the coolness of the outside temperature, and from the lack of a heater in the van.

Her ribs still hurt terribly, and her face was noticeably tear-stained, along with her glasses.

Her eyes darted around, this way and that. She caught sight of her legs that were covered in bruises from being dragged and forced around from different places throughout this nightmare.

After for a long time of sitting in the back, they finally stopped the van outside of another abandoned house. This one was much smaller, and appeared to be more of a lake-house. Redd turned around to face Velma, and pointed the gun to her head.

"If you try to escape while we're gone, you'll regret it," Redd growled, then he and Bill got out of the van, carrying with them some supplies they had gathered from the previous house.

Velma sat there, in the back of the van. _I have to risk it_, she thought as she strained to untie the ropes that bound her feet and hands together. _I can't just sit here and not do anything anymore_.

Velma struggled as fast as she could to free herself from the entanglements of the ropes. After what seemed like forever, Velma was finally free from her trap. She quietly opened the back of the van door and closed it lightly, trying not to draw attention to herself.

She slipped out of the van and looked around the unfamiliar area. Velma noticed a path that seemed to be hidden in the surrounding forest. _I have to try to get to it and get away_, she told herself.

"One…," Velma whispered softly, after taking a deep breath, "two…three!"

Velma darted to the hidden path she had spotted moments earlier. Velma hid behind a tree and looked around to make sure no one followed her. She waited for about five minutes and then quickly, but quietly, followed the path.

Velma rounded what seemed like a u-shaped corner when her wrist was caught. She was roughly turned around to face her captor, who was none other than Redd Herring.

"I told you not to try and escape!" he growled as he grabbed her other wrist.

"You're hurting me," Velma cried, feeling the tight grip he had on both wrists. She could only imagine the bruises that would form on her skin after this. Velma struggled to try and get one of her wrists free.

"Try all you might Velma, but you won't get free of this grip," Redd sneered. But alas to him, Velma wriggled one of her hands free.

With her free hand, Velma took a daring risk and punched Redd in the face.

POW!

Redd stumbled backward a bit, but what was amazing to Velma was that he wasn't hurt badly enough to let go of her other wrist.

As Velma struggled to pull free of Redd's grip, Redd recovered from the righthook. He twisted her arm behind her back, then grabbed her other arm and did the same thing. Velma yelped out in pain. Redd dragged her back to the once-abandoned house, ignoring her cries of pain.

Bill saw what happened and came outside with a pair of handcuffs in his pocket, as Redd came closer to the house with Velma.

The Mystery Machine drove in silence for a long time. Fred finally stopped the tired van.

"Are we there already?" Daphne asked groggily, waking up from a short nap.

"Yep," Fred replied.

The four companions put on their mountain boots, snow jackets, gloves, and wool hats and headed up the mountain. They started hiking, no one saying a word. After about a while, Scooby stopped short. Shaggy turned around when he realized Scooby wasn't there. He noticed that Scooby had his ears perked up.

"Like, Scoob, what is it?" Shaggy asked. Daphne and Fred stopped and turned to listen.

"Risten," Scooby said.

The four of them stood there silently, not daring to breathe or make any noise.

They started to hear what Scooby heard so easily, faint, shrieking cries for help.

"Help! Let go of me, Redd! Somebody help!"

Then there was a fearful silence. None of them moved or spoke. Shaggy broke the chain. "Like, do y-you th-think that was Velma?" he asked nervously.

"Most like," Fred replied, his voice surprisingly calm, though his facial expression betrayed him. "Let's keep going."


	9. Chapter 9

Velma awoke inside a new room. She sat up and surveyed her surroundings. She was in a small room, on a double-bed. A small nightstand accompanied the bed. Not much else was in the room, save for a small window on the left side of the bed.

_Why am I in here_, Velma thought. _He's not gonna…NO! He wouldn't…..or would he? Eww! Gross! I need to get out of here!_

Velma pulled herself off of the bed, clutching her side, and slightly limped towards the window. She unlocked it, and began trying to lift it open, though it was difficult since it hadn't been opened in years.

In the midst of her attempted escape, the only door to the room burst open, and in the doorway was Redd and Bill.

"Where do you think you're going?" Redd snarled, walking towards Velma. He grabbed her and pushed her away from the window onto the floor. "You're friends are too late. It's time for your doom."

Redd pulled out his gun, armed it and aimed at a cowering Velma, pushing herself farther into the corner.

"Like, man, I wouldn't pull that trigger if you don't want your brother here to become Scooby's midnight snack," Shaggy said standing in the doorway. He and Fred had managed to capture and hold Bill, flanked by Daphne and Scooby on either side.

Redd turned to face his enemies. "So, you finally found us. Well, you're too late. I'm gonna finish her off, and then I'll take care of each of you one by one. Except you for you, beautiful," he said nodding to Daphne. "I have better plans for you."

Fred took this opportunity to cut in. "Wait! Drop the gun, Redd. And then you and I can fight for the win. Winner take all?"

Velma looked at Fred worriedly, and he gave her a quick wink. Then she understood.

"Sure, why not, should be easy enough," Redd remarked. He dropped the gun to the ground and ran and tackled Fred in the hallway. Daphne jumped out of the way, standing as close to the wall as she could get.

Bill nudged Shaggy in the chest and dived for the gun at the same time as Velma. He grabbed for it and quickly got up off the ground, grabbing Velma and holding the gun at her head. "Don't move or the lady gets it!"

_I can't take this anymore_, thought Velma. _If I'm gonna die today, then I might as well go out with a fight_. With this in mind, Velma shoved herself into Bill so hard that the force knocked both of them out of the second story window and onto the snowy ground, tumbling down a slight hill and onto the icy lake. Shaggy and Scooby didn't hesitate a minute, and jumped out of the window after them, going to help Velma.

Back in the house, Redd and Fred were exchanging punch after punch, each one of them missing. Finally, with some luck, Redd managed to hit Fred, sending him tumbling down the stairs. Redd laughed, and then started to slowly walk down the stairs. "Little Freddy," Redd taunted, "just can't handle the pressure, can you?"

Redd reached the foot of the stairs and picked Fred up, putting an one arm and knee on his back to hold him, and his other arm around Fred's neck and began choking him. "No matter how much you try, you'll just never come out on top. You'll always be the loser I knew you were."

WHAM! Redd was sent spiraling across the floor. He looked up and there was Daphne walking toward him with a broom in her hands. She came up to him and put one foot on his chest to pin him down, and she held the tip of the broom to his throat, threatening to choke him. "Fred, dear, want to help with this? Bill seemed to drop a pair of these in the hall upstairs," she said, showing him a pair of handcuffs.

"No problem," Fred said, smiling. He grabbed the handcuffs and obtained Redd. "Let's go see if the others need our help."

Once Shaggy and Scooby landed on the ground, Shaggy spotted the gun and picked it up, arming it. _I hope I won't have to use this, but if I must…_

Velma and Bill ended up on the icy lake. They each stood up, trying to gain balance without slipping. Velma finally was able to stand, but clutched her ribs as she was once again reminded of the pain. Velma started to slowly walk back to the snow until she noticed something in the ice that shocked her.

Bill was finally up and ready to attack Velma, when she interrupted him, "Don't move, we're on thin ice!" But it was too late, for Bill was still moving toward her when the ice cracked, and both of them fell under and into the freezing water.

Shaggy and Scooby saw this from further up shore, and raced towards the water to save Velma. Shaggy got to the edge and looked to see if he could possibly see a glimpse of Velma from under the ice. Scooby sniffing carefully on the ice to pick up Velma's scent and finally found something and started barking to Shaggy.

"Raggy!" he yelled. "Rover rere!"

Shaggy carefully treaded to the slight break in the ice that Scooby was signaling to. He took off his jacket, scarf, mittens, and hat and handed them to Scooby. "I'll be right back," he told Scooby.

Shaggy took a breath and jumped in the water, and began searching for Velma. He didn't have to swim very far until he saw Bill choking Velma with both hands on her throat. Shaggy swam faster and faster to save her, his heart pounding loudly in his chest. Shaggy swam up behind Bill and punched him so severely, that Bill fell to the bottom of the lake, unconscious. Shaggy grabbed Velma, who was about to pass out, swam back to the surface of the water.

The air was already cold enough for being up north during the winter. So when Shaggy had surfaced from the water with an unconscious Velma in his arms, it was ten times colder than normal. Scooby helped bring Velma out of the water. Fred and Daphne arrived shortly, and Daphne helped Shaggy out of the cold water.

"Where's Bill?" Daphne asked.

"He's gone," Shaggy said.

There was a short silence, until Scooby reminded them that Velma wasn't breathing. Shaggy and Daphne quickly moved over to Velma who was over in the snow under Scooby's watch.

Shaggy and Daphne repositioned Velma on the snow, while Daphne started chest compressions and Shaggy gave Velma air.

After a couple of tries in tense silence, Velma regained consciousness, coughing up some water. She looked around and saw Redd, then gasped and shuddered a little.

"It's okay Velma," Shaggy said soothingly, "he can't hurt you anymore."

Scooby licked Velma on the cheek and exclaimed with excitement, "Relma!"

Daphne hugged Velma and said, near tears, "I'm so glad we found you."

"Glad you're back, Velma!" Fred said, giving her a slight grin.

"Thanks, guys," Velma said, hugging Daphne back.

Daphne got up and ushered Fred to take Redd to the Mystery Machine, while she pulled out her cell phone, to contact the local police to take Redd into custody. Scooby followed them as well, wanting to get out of the cold.

Shaggy helped Velma stand up, then grabbed his mittens, scarf, and hat, and put them on her.

"Shaggy," Velma began, "thanks for saving me back there. It means a lot to me to know that you would risk your life for me."

"Like, I'd risk my life for you any day, Velma," Shaggy said while putting the coat and both of them, holding her close, "you mean the world to me, and I love you."

"I love you too, Shaggy," Velma said, near tears. They embraced in a warm kiss, before walking back up to the Mystery Machine.

Fin.

Please tell me what you think!


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